Monday, August 18, 2008

spring cleaning!

Apologies to those of you who are anxiously waiting for me to finish the lining tutorial I started in my last post... I got a little side-tracked.

Admittedly, I get distracted far too easily. Not ideal, but it always makes life interesting!

Want to know what happened?

Well... I brought out my sewing machine to work on the lining. It was then that I remembered that I had broken the needle the last time I had used it. So I went to my sewing box for a replacement one... NONE THERE!!!!

I knew they had to be around somewhere. I very clearly remember that I had bought a five-pack not long ago, and had only used one out of it. I can clearly recall staring at the rows and rows of needles at the store... trying to decide which ones I was going to need. And then the excitement when I brought them home and they were the right ones!

Obviously I was so excited by the prospect of having purchased correctly... that I was in an ecstatic haze... and didn't put the needles away in the correct spot when I was finished. I mean, I can't think of any other reason for not putting them away properly... Surely not sheer laziness??? or distraction???

So... the needles had to be somewhere. I pulled the place apart looking for them, and then had a giant mess to clean up! Somewhere along the way I decided it would just make so much more sense if I completely re-organised my craft area... and I ended up doing a big spring clean (yes, I know I'm a few weeks early)

Remember these magazine holders you used to be able to buy? Still can I guess. Well these ones have been lying around at our place for years. I have wanted to throw them out on so many occasions... and Mr Goldfish has insisted on holding onto them... JUST IN CASE THEY COME IN HANDY ONE DAY!

Well, guess what... they did come in handy... but I would never have anticipated that I would store yarn in them. I laid them on their backs, and adjusted the shelving to fit perfectly. They work brilliantly! I've used plastic boxes for storage in the past... with reasonable success. But I want to be able to touch it... pet it... fiddle with it... just be able to see and grab exactly what I want when I want (did I hear someone whisper the words 'instant gratification'?)

So that's part of the job done. Yarn neatly on shelves. the baskets underneath are full of rag balls, and the chest at the very bottom contains felted jumpers. The small trolley is full of recycled bits and bobs... belts, jewellery, tassels, lace, pompoms... all sorts of treasures. And the basket on top of that holds my knitting needles and looms, crochet hooks, circular needles, etc.

And it you're looking for my measuring tapes... they're being used to tie back the curtains... of course!

23 comments:

Stramenda
said...

Wow ! Ok, I have SEVERAL wows here.First on how excellent it looks.Second on putting the magazine boxes on their backs for the yarn and adjusting the bookshelves.Third for using the measuring tapes as curtain tie backs.Fourth for the "instant gratification" bit (ROFL!!)And fifth for IT ALL BEING RECYCLED YARN . . . the whole lot !A M A Z I N G ! vigorously applauding and cheering

So cool. It looks wonderful! I love those magazine holders and have made a few of mine from old cereal boxes, you just cut at an angle & have an instant holder you can decorate or paint. Very inspiring!

Can I hire you to help me organize my craft area? Wait, the plane ticket might be more than I can afford. My only problem is that I have this cat that just LOVES wool yarn. I have a sliding glass door cabinet to keep the yarn from her, but somehow she gets her little claws and paws in there anyway. I think she would figure a way up to those shelves. Is it better to reclaim the yarn and save it in balls for later or save the jumper/sheets, then reclaim them when you need them?

julie - I love the organising part... it is the maintenance that is my downfall every time!

with the yarn... I like to reclaim it quickly, and have it in my stash ready to use (although admittedly I have a huge backlog in my frog pond at the moment)

I also have my rag balls ready-to-use... although, that's a bit of an iffy one... some fabrics I have cut into rags and then thought BUGGER I should have saved some for a lining or a different project... also I would cut them to half an inch for bags, BUT one inch for a rug... so it depends if you know what you are planning to do with them really...

Ahhhh, that is my problem as well. I've made strips for a rug, then thought I wished I had saved some for a sewing project. Thanks for your advice. I think my first order of business is to use what I have in my own frog pond before I acquire more.

You continue to inspire and amaze peoble with this post. 5 years later and all the way to the United States! My reclaimed ( or as I call it, "upcycled") yarn stash is equal to yours so I know that this is a proven idea that will work for my stash. Thank you for your inventive spirit. Now you have reminded me, where are my machine needles...?

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